Elgin Community College’s Observer, the student news publication of ECC, is a finalist for five national awards from the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and the College Media Association (CMA). Two of the categories are staff awards, one for best Email Newsletter and one for best Multiplatform Publication.

Two Observer alums are finalists in three individual categories. The recognized finalists are former Editor-In-Chief Dom Di Palermo and former Managing Editor Hannah Soukup.

ACP is the nation’s largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media. Their award, the Pacemaker, recognizes the quintessence of college student media and distinct collegiate journalism, according to ACP. Soukup has been named a national finalist for a Pacemaker Award for Reporter Of The Year in the two year school category. To Soukup, the nomination for such an award not only recognizes and honors her commitment to her craft, but her ability to stay authentic during a professional discussion. Soukup credits her success to her preparation when approaching an interview.

“I’ve found that when reporting stories, I need to write down at least 15-20 questions per interview,” Soukup said. “It’s almost become second nature to draft questions and interview people, but nonetheless, I still need to prepare in order to conduct the most effective interview possible.”

Soukup notes that not only is it important to her to maintain a sense of herself throughout an interview, but affirming that the subject of her report is comfortable is something equally crucial. 

“I think making an interviewee comfortable is all about conducting an interview in an environment familiar to them,” Soukup said. “I keep a friendly and lighthearted atmosphere. Appearing interested in the conversation and giving interviewees the opportunity to add more to the interview outside of the questions being asked adds more depth to a story.”

Alongside her nomination for a Pacemaker, Soukup is also named a national finalist for a Pinnacle Award for Column Writing in the two year school category. Pinnacle Awards are presented by CMA. The CMA honors exceptional individuals with the prestigious award who portray elevated student achievement through their publishing. The organization nominated a personal opinion piece Soukup published in December 2022.

“The story is about my sexual abuse journey with my stepfather. It’s a personal one, but I wanted to write about this subject to bring awareness that these kinds of things happen,” Soukup said. 

Throughout the piece, Soukup divulges into the beginning, middle and end of her healing journey from the sexual abuse and coercion she had endured at the hands of her stepfather. She recounts the situations she had faced from the ages of 10-15 and details the consequences she found herself fighting with that followed her abuser’s actions. Adding on to the importance of this situation she aimed to convey, Soukup confronted the topic with statistical research in regards to how common this kind of abuse is and how it can affect the victim. Observer editor Indie Wilson helped write the informative parts of this story.

“I wanted to emphasize the statistics of this subject so the audience can understand how common this really is,” Soukup said. “I almost hoped that sharing my story would make others feel comfortable with their experiences.”

Soukup’s opinion piece amassed hundreds of views and supportive feedback from the ECC community since it was published.

“I was not expecting the response from the community that I received, but I’m so glad that the story took off the way it did so other people can find the comfort in knowing they are not alone in their experience,” Soukup said.

Walking into ECC with only two years of high school under her belt, Soukup originally had aspirations of majoring in psychology. Her first year of college classes aimed to fulfill that passion, with a combination of vigorous amounts of gen eds paired with various psychology courses. As she entered into her second year, all of that changed.

“I wasn’t in The Observer until my second year [of ECC],” Soukup said. “Once I joined, I knew journalism was the major I wanted to pursue.”

During her time with The Observer, Soukup covered numerous stories, keeping the ECC community informed and entertained. Soukup has continued her pursuit for journalism on Northern Illinois University’s campus, securing a leadership position as a copy editor during her first semester on NIU’S newspaper, The Northern Star. In addition to her involvement in her new schools’ newspaper, Soukup is a freelance writer for the Kane County Chronicle with a focus in feature and news writing.

Soukup’s reaction to the nominations she has received were expressed in excitement and astoundment. 

“It’s such an honor,” Soukup said. “In retrospect, if I had known this is where I would be when I started The Observer, I would’ve been in shock. I am ecstatic and look forward to getting the results.” 

Di Palermo has been named a finalist for a Pinnacle Award for Sports Features in the two year school category for his profile on Dennis Biddle, the youngest player to play in the Negro Baseball League. 

Di Palermo’s profile on Biddle was a project he had been working on for three months. He wanted to capture all of Biddle’s journeys he had experienced in his 87 years of life, making extensive trips up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to interview him. The finalist nomination recognizes the research and dedication Di Palermo put in towards the creation of this profile.

“Taking up this story was difficult because Mr. Biddle is older and has lived a long life with many different aspects and phases and parts to it,” Di Palermo said. “I reworked it for a couple of months because with profiles, information is written out of order and thoughtfully connected by the author in order to keep the audience engaged.”

As a kid, Di Palermo grew up with a fascination with Jackie Robinson and the Negro Baseball League. When in fifth grade, Di Palermo went to a baseball convention with his father, where he would meet Biddle for the first time. 

“The story means a lot to me because of the history of knowing him,” Di Palermo said. “I met him nine years ago at a baseball convention. It came really full circle getting to do the biggest story I’ve ever written about him and his life because he’s someone that I’ve met before and is a legend in my life.”

At the convention, Di Palermo found a booth with the players in the league. This is where Di Palermo had purchased a book that Biddle had written about his life and his relationship with baseball.

“He’s a very fascinating guy so it was really cool to get to know him on this level of interviewing him for an hour and a half and then getting to write something he would read after I read something he wrote,” Di Palermo said. “Writing this story meant a lot to me because in a way we created a bond from us both writing something about him.” 

Di Palermo walked into ECC in 2021 knowing he wanted to major in photojournalism. His experience with photojournalism came from his own projects. He joined The Observer the first semester of his first year to gain more experience alongside the journalism courses he was taking. Starting the spring semester of his first year, Di Palermo would become The Observer’s editor-in-chief up until he graduated in 2023. 

“Although I quickly gained an interest in photojournalism in high school, I had never edited stories, only photos, and had never written a story like the profile I did on Biddle. It’s around 4,445 words,” Di Palermo said. “Photography was my main passion so taking up this story and an editorial position for three semesters was a new endeavor.”

Di Palermo graduated from ECC the spring semester of 2023. He transferred to Western Kentucky University the following fall semester, where he is now photographing for their student newspaper, The WKU Herald. Alongside his position for their newspaper, Di Palermo is now involved in WKU’s magazine, The Talisman Magazine, where he primarily focuses on web-based publications and photos. 

Di Palermo’s take on what sentiment being a finalist holds to him is more about the story than it is the award. 

“It’s a great honor to be a finalist,” Di Palermo said. The awards don’t mean as much as writing the story. I really want Biddle’s story to be heard, and the higher the place, the more people will read the story.”

Nick Obradovich, adviser of The Observer, worked with both editors in the student newspaper during the 2022-2023 school year. Obradovich acknowledges the two previous editors for their hard work and dedication towards journalism. 

“For Dom and Hannah to be named national finalists does my heart good,” Obradovich said. “They were both among the best community college journalists in the country last year. I have nothing but admiration and respect for both of them.”

The staff recognitions that The Observer received are dedicated to the work created as a collective group. 

The Observer’s Pacemaker nomination is for Best Multiplatform Publication. The digital platforms receiving recognition are The Observer’s website, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X/Twitter. The ACP has named 27 finalists for this award. 23 nominees are from four-year colleges/universities and four are from two-year colleges. Of the finalists, 14 will be named Pacemakers. 

The Observer’s recognition for a Pinnacle Award recognizes Best Email Newsletter. The Observer finds itself one of three finalists in the two year category.

“I am so happy that our staff was recognized for our email newsletter and digital platforms,” Obradovich said. “This staff was an amazing collection of individuals who worked hard all year, so I’m ecstatic that they were recognized.”

The Observer has never won a Pacemaker or Pinnacle. One Observer staff member was a Pacemaker finalist in 2022. In March 2023, The Observer won an ACP Best in Show for digital newsletter. The ACP will announce Pacemaker recipients on Monday, Oct. 30 as will the CMA announce their Pinnacle recipients the following day, Tuesday, Oct. 31 at the Fall National College Media Convention in Atlanta.